Israeli strike in Gaza kills at least seven including four children
Abdel In Girls Younis Khan Kareem In Distribution At Friday Gaza Centre Picture: A On Hana/ap Food Palestinian
An Israeli airstrike on a residential building in central Gaza killed at least seven Palestinians, including four children, and injured 16 other people on Friday afternoon, health officials said.
The strike hit an apartment in the Jaffa residential tower in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp. The dead and wounded were taken to Aqsa and Awda hospitals.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strike. Israel says it strikes only militants and blames Hamas for civilian deaths because its fighters operate in residential areas.
Israel faces heavy international criticism over the unprecedented levels of civilian casualties in Gaza and questions about whether it has done enough to prevent them.
Earlier on Friday, Israeli settlers set fire to a mosque and vandalised property in the northern occupied West Bank, the head of the Palestinian village council said, as Israeli police pledged to investigate the episode.
The West Bank has seen a surge in violence by Jewish settlers during the war in Gaza, and rights groups say the Israeli army often turns a blind eye.
Nasfat al-Khafash, the head of the council in Marda where the attack occurred, said a group of settlers arrived early in the morning, setting the mosque on fire and scrawling hateful messages on it.
Associated Press video showed spray-painted stars of David and the words in Hebrew, “the mosque will burn, the temple will be built”, an apparent reference to the ultranationalist desire to establish a Third Temple for Jews in Jerusalem at the holiest and most contested site in the Holy Land.
“These slogans reflect their upbringing and hatred towards Palestinians and Arabs,” said Mr al-Khafash, adding that the settlers received “full support” from the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel’s police, military and Shin Bet internal security agency said they were investigating the episode.
“We view the incident seriously and will act with determination to bring those responsible to justice,” they said in a statement.
The UN’s humanitarian office said settler attacks on Palestinian farmers during this autumn’s olive harvest season “at least tripled” in 2024 compared with the each of the last three years.
In the West Bank and east Jerusalem, more than 700,000 Jewish settlers have Israeli citizenship, while the three million Palestinians in the territory live under Israeli military law.